Höglwörther See Triathlon Training Plan & Preparation

Course & Elevation

The race starts with 400 metres in the Höglwörther See, a small pre-alpine lake. For many entrants it is their first open-water swim in a race, and it is deliberately kept short.

The 20-kilometre bike leg runs from the lake out into the hilly countryside around Anger, on paved roads through the villages of the Rupertiwinkel and over the Vachenlueger Berg. About 310 metres of climbing over such a short distance means only around a quarter of the route is flat. A ramp of just under 700 metres, averaging a good seven percent with pitches to twelve, arrives at kilometre 4.4, and from kilometre 7.2 the main climb follows: nearly two kilometres at around five and a half percent for 110 metres of gain. Rises and descents then alternate until the course leads back to transition.

A five-kilometre run closes the race. Together the three parts make up roughly 25 kilometres whose difficulty clearly sits on the bike. Organised by SC Anger, the race has the character a Volkstriathlon should have: a manageable field, short distances between the venues, a regional setting.

Pacing Strategy

The 400 metres in the lake are too short to win the race but long enough to lose it. Swim them evenly and do not come out of the water at your limit, because the first serious gradient arrives only minutes later.

The stretch between kilometres 4 and 9 on the bike decides the day: first the short ramp to twelve percent, then the main climb of nearly two kilometres. Ride both controlled at the upper end of threshold rather than in the red, and use the descents actively to keep the legs turning. With only about a quarter of the course flat, there is hardly any section where too big an effort corrects itself.

The classic Volkstriathlon trap is early over-eagerness: 20 bike kilometres sound like little, and the rolling course invites you to attack every crest. The five-kilometre run starts straight afterwards and punishes that at once. Deliberately save matches for the transition and the opening run kilometres.

12-Week Preparation

For most entrants the race takes roughly one and a quarter to two hours in total, of which around 35 to 55 minutes are on the bike. The effort is short and intense, and the rolling bike profile makes it interval-like: the climbs push you over threshold repeatedly, with rolling recovery on the descents in between. A rigidly steady pace does not work on this course.

The climbs between kilometres 4 and 9 and the switch into running decide the race, and those two points are what your preparation should mirror.

Ride repeated hill intervals of one to three minutes on real climbs, accelerating over the crest, built on a solid aerobic base. Brick runs belong in the week: 10 to 20 minutes of running straight off a hard, rolling bike session. And because the pre-alpine roads are twisting and often descending, confident, smooth descending pays off here directly, without costing a single watt.

If this is your first triathlon, plan two things firmly: several open-water sessions covering 400 metres in one piece, including sighting and the entry into the water, and one full rehearsal of the distance with both transitions. Over a race this length, a calm, practised transition is easy time.